Life Goes On
by dafney64
Summary: Sequel to A Special Time - Fitz and Olivia have three kids and live and work in Houston now. There are some surprises on the horizon.
1. Chapter 1

Twelve years of marriage and three kids didn't make Olivia and Fitz's love any dimmer it only made it shine that much brighter as they moved through life.

Fitzgerald as he still wanted to be called, had blossomed even more than his parents had hoped. He was ten now and the gifted school they found for him in Houston had done wonders for his social skills. He was athletic as Fitz but slightly better, but she would never tell her husband that. He had turned not only into a great basketball player, but really excelled at baseball. Nothing could be said about his academic side, but the ability for Fitz and Olivia to keep him engaged in learning was a task in itself. Not to mention he had his share of female admirers. Olivia constantly had to tell older girls he was only ten, but he was just as handsome as his father if not more with his added Carmel complection and Grant blue eyes. He also took to being a big brother like a duck to water. Lily and Sam loved their big brother and for the most part he would take the blame for a lot of the stuff that may have gotten them in trouble. Of course it was always Lily inspired.

Lily Rose was a handful from the get go. At four she relished in the fact that she was still the reigning champ as the only girl in the Grant clan. She had all the Grant men as well as Olivia's father and Huck wrapped around her dainty finger. Olivia was her great equalizer pulling her coat tails. She didn't allow her to get away with anything and she made sure that Fitz didn't play the sucker when it came to his little girl. She was all daddy's girl at four and as promised the day she turned three Fitz bought her a pony with all pink accessories.

Sam was a different story altogether. Sam was Olivia's heart. He was such a gentle soul and laid back. He would just let Lily drag him into any hair brained scheme she concocted and went along happy-go-lucky. He never complained or protested if Lily blamed him for anything. While she had to pull Lily's coat tails, she had to push Sam to stand up for himself. He already displayed artistic talent. She would find him in his room for hours on end just painting, that is if Lily or Fitzgerald came and got him to play. Sometimes Olivia would sit in the room with him and read while he painted. During her mommy and Sam time she would take him to art galleries around the city and on special occasions like his and Lily's birthday they would go to art galleries around the world. Of course for Lily's birthday all she wanted to do was go shopping. She was more of a clothes hound than her mother. Sometimes Olivia would find him out in the pasture just sitting under a tree watching the clouds go by or the horses graze. Sometimes he would just turn up in Olivia's lap without a word and sit until either had something else to do. All he wanted was a cuddle and when he got it he would leave just as quietly as he came. Sam made her want another baby.

Fitz reveled in his life and family. It was everything and more he ever dreamed of. He had a beautiful intelligent wife. He had three of the greatest kids the world had ever seen. His opinion he shared with everyone he came in contact with. His life at Grant Oil was just as he imagined it. He brought Michael in as head of the corporate legal department and Caleb had begun his executive training during the summer. Grant oil was really taking on a family oriented company.

The only sadness he had in his heart was when Grandma Candy passed away two years ago. It was such a shock to the family and Big F was devastated. They nearly lost him in the process of his grieving. Olivia and Fitz moved him into their home so he wouldn't be left at the home he and Candy had shared for over fifty years. At first he spent most of his time in the mother-in-law apartment over the garage most days. Olivia thought that the kids could pull him out of his sadness. So she would send Lily and Sam to get him for lunch everyday. They were so young that grieve was not a concept they could understand. So they were there normal two-year old selves. They would run and jump into Big F's arms and hug and kiss him each day, and Lily alone could get him to take her horse back riding if she pouted just a little. Big F stayed on for a year, but he needed to get back home. He said Candy would be disappointed in him if he let her garden go to pot. Olivia would still take the kids over at least three times a week to see him, to make sure he doing ok. Eventually the women at the church were he attended started to pull him out to social engagements and a few were sweet on him.

Fitz was so glad he still had the benefit of Big F's advise on everything in life. Big F never gave up the opportunity to praise Fitz for moving Grant Oil along with the times. He was proud that Fitz was determined to make this a true family business by bringing in his brothers to run the company. The moment he brought Fitz on board was the proudest moment of his life.

* * *

The Grant family had changed significantly.

Gray was now the Captain of the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, and one giant surprise was the he was now married to Abby.

It was a bit of a shock to the family when it happened. Of course everyone loved Abby, but last Xmas trip to Whistler, Olivia had invited Huck and Abby to go with them. She noticed that Abby disappeared after skiing for a day. She asked around if anyone had seen her. Caleb said that he thought she and Gray had taken on the black diamond run on the other side of the compound. She thought that they probably had stopped back at Gray's cabin on the way back. She headed out that way to see if they wanted to go into town that night to a bar. She saw their skies parked outside Gray's cabin, so she knocked. No answer. She tried the door and it opened. She called out to Gray and Abby. She walked around then went toward the bedroom when she heard the giggles and moans. She could not believe what she was hearing. She slowly back her way out of the cabin and found Fitz.

"Did you know Gray and Abby are seeing each other?"

"Yeah."

"What! You knew they were seeing each other and you said nothing to me?"

"Gray called me for some advise about Abby and he told me in confidence that he was in love with her and he was going to propose this week. It wasn't for me to tell anyone. I assume that there will be a big announcement coming this week."

Olivia just sat there with her mouth completely hanging open at his revelation.

"So how long has this been going on? And what about David?"

"Well you know that Abby took that job in DC and Gray's ship pulled in one weekend in Virginia about a year ago and the only person he knew in the DC area was Abby. He asked her out just to hang out and one thing lead to the other and they started seeing each other. Everytime and everywhere that Gray pulled into a port of call Abby would meet him there. It was like they had a crap load of honeymoons all over the world. I love Abby and to be quite frank, Gray needs a little fire in his life."

Olivia just sat there dumbfounded listening to her husband and this crazy tail of romance. She just started to chuckle then she lapsed into a hysterical fit of laughter. Her husband looked at her like she had lost it.

"Only you Grant boys can be so romantic and cryptic all at the same time."

"As comical as that may be to you. Abbs is going to be your sister soon. Gray's ship is going to be deployed in a few weeks out to the Arabian sea and he doesn't want to wait to get married before he gets back. So yours truly has arranged a secret wedding for them in a few days here at Whistler. Her Mom and Dad are down the road at the resort we stayed at."

"Is there any other big news you want to spring on me as well?"

He looks at her a bit sheepishly and says, "she's due in October."

Olivia just gets up and starts firing all the pillows off the couch at him until she has him on the ground pounding him with a pillow. After losing the pillow she is straddling him and tickling him until she sees tears come out of his eyes. She finally stops, bends over, kisses him and sits back up.

"Abby will think he is asking because she is pregnant. You know how stubborn she is."

"Well, that's kinda where you come into this whole scenario."

"I knew you two boobs couldn't pull it totally off without my help."

"Gray was too scared to come and tell you. So, I was going to talk to you tonight about everything. He wants you to talk to Abby after he proposes. He knows she is going to say no."

Olivia slides off to the side of Fitz and starts to think about the situation.

"Hmmm...your right on the no, I think if I can get her alone and make her see that Gray really loves her, she might give in. And that's a mighty big if."

"I'm relying on you to use your old debate skills to convince her. Gray was going to propose six months ago, but he thought it was too soon."

"Six months ago? Do you think he still has the receipt for the ring? That might just sway her if she knows he was going to do this all along. It just might be the proof she needs."

"Good thinking babe. I knew you would find the solution to this mess. Now that you've saved the day, how about you give your sex starved husband a go?" As he twitches his eyebrows up and down.

"First of all my beloved husband, you are not sex starved one bit. Hell we just did it last night before the twins busted in on us. And by the way, I didn't forget your statement before we had Fitzgerald, you wanted to have enough kids to sneak around and have sex in different places. How's that working out?"

Fitz rolls on top of her and pins her hands above her head as he pushes his erection into her thigh.

"First let me start off by saying that once a day is never enough with you Livy. Second, I love that we have sex all over the house as well as my office. To me it keeps everything fresh in our relationship. And lastly, I want another baby."

She looks into his eyes and sees how serious he is. He lets her hands go and props himself up on his elbows to look down at her.

"How long have you been thinking about another baby?"

"The moment the twin turned two."

"Why didn't you say something sooner?"

He sat up and pulled her into his lap straddling him as he moved to sit against the foot of the bed.

"It took you so long to recover after the twins were born, and then we were so concerned about Fitzgerald making a transition into that school. Now seems like the perfect time to have a baby. Here's another reason, if we don't have another girl, I think Lily will be hell on wheels, we may never be able to marry her off."

The both burst out into laughter.

"Great minds do think alike. I was going to talk to you this week about having another baby. When Sam sits in my lap just to cuddle he makes me yearn for another baby. Shall we start now, or wait until we get back to Houston to start?"

Before she can get the words out, Fitz has hauled her up from the floor and frantically taking her clothes off.

"Well I guess now." She laughs.


	2. Chapter 2

_**I do not own Scandal. Hey guys I had to make a few changes to the first chapter to make this chapter work. So keep in mind that this event occurred the last Grant Xmas at Whistler. Not the flashback, but the following paragraphs. Thanks for all the reviews I really appreciate you guys so much.  
**_

* * *

_**Flashback**_

As predicted. Abby said no. Gray had the cabin all lit with candles, soft music playing and a fire going in the fire-place for Abby when she arrived. She thought is was just going to be another romantic night together.

Abby always looked at Gray as some lunk headed football player that remotely looked like Fitz. She never gave him the time of day, but that night in DC when he showed up at the bar she was waiting at gave her new eyes she didn't have before. She felt like she was Debra Winger in An Officer and Gentleman. Gray was so dashing in his dress blues. It felt like every woman in the bar just stopped and watched him go by. Gray was by no means still the guy she imagined growing up. He was tall 6'4" and broad. He filled out his uniform perfectly. He still had thick blond hair with the drop dead Grant blue eyes and smile.

When he stopped in front of her, he had to snap her out of the haze she was in watching him swagger through the bar. She stood up and hugged and kissed him on the cheek. Abby felt like she was going to faint at how close he was to her. She could smell his cologne and as awkward she always felt being so tall, it felt like her body just matched up with Gray's so well.

When she pulled back and looked in his eyes she knew right away she was in trouble. She and David had moved to DC after law school. They lived together and the problem with them was that they were just so comfortable with each other. Abby had secretly wished for the same kind of passion she saw in Fitz and Olivia, but all she felt for David was comfortable as an old shoe. That's why she said no to David. She knew that building a life together was more than comfort.

"Hey Abbs! Nice to see you."

"Hey lunk head! Long time no see."

Gray laughed at the nickname that she gave him when he was ten. What Abby didn't know was that Gray had been in love with her for years. He never thought he would ever have a chance in hell to win Abby. She was smart, sassy, and drop dead gorgeous. Way out of his league. Even though he commanded an aircraft carrier. He was virtual putty in the hands of Abby. He felt like he was ten every time he was around her.

They spent a few hours in the bar before they went to dinner. As they were leaving the bar every woman there turned to watch them leave. Abby grabbed Gray's arm to let all the bitches know that he was with her.

What started off as an innocent drink and dinner, escalated into each of them tearing the others clothes off at the Fairfax at Embassy Row in Gray's room. They pulled apart to gaze at each others bodies. The want in both their eyes was palpable. Gray had finally realized a fantasy of his for so long, and Abby couldn't believe the passion and how out of control she felt with this man. Gray pulled her into him and kissed her so deeply that Abby felt her legs give way. He grabbed her thighs and lifted her up as he moved toward the bed. Abby's 6'0" frame fitted perfectly to Gray's. They were so frantic with lust that Gray didn't even bother with foreplay, he went for the gold right away. He plugged into her core up to the hilt of his penis as he watch Abby's face. He stilled for her, so she could get used to his rather large penis. David's penis was average size, but Gray was on a whole other level. She enjoyed the delicious pain his penis caused her. When she had regained a little more control, she opened her eyes to see Gray looking deep into hers. She knew in that tiny moment that this was it, this is what she had waited for, and it had been under her nose her entire life. She loved him.

Gray looked into her eyes for permission before he started to move. He kissed her gently when she gave him permission to move inside her. It was slow and torturous. He slipped his tongue in her mouth at the same pace as his thrust. Abby was all consumed by his pace and size, it felt like little deaths as he moved inside her. The girth of his penis was almost too much to take. Gray knew how big he was and he tried to go as slow as possible, but Abby's moans were too much for him. He picked up the pace as her moans got more intense. When she started to scream cuss words he couldn't hold back at all. He pounded her until she nearly passed out. She came so hard she thought she had fainted, she lost all sense of where she was until she felt Gray thrust two more times and he came screaming her name.

He collapsed on top of her not able to move for a few minutes. Gray had been with a few women, but he had never had this kind of sexual experience in his life. Neither had Abby. He rolled off her to the side and pulled her on top of him. She moved up until her head was secure in his neck and shoulder. They laid there as Gray stroked her back up to her neck and hair. He knew he was finally home in her arms and he wasn't going to give up that feeling for any reason. Abby stroked his arm as a way to show him she was still awake.

"I can't go back to David."

Gray squeezed Abby to him.

"I wouldn't let you if you tried. We belong together, you know that right? I've been in love with you since I was ten. My feeling never left me Abby, I knew you were the one for me."

She brushed her hand through his wavy hair and down his jaw line to really take him in. He was beautiful and her's. They just laid there looking into each others eyes not saying anything for hours, until Gray couldn't take it anymore an initiated another round of sex. This time he was slow and deliberate. He wanted to worship her body this time.

* * *

_**Present Day**_

Abby finally spilled the beans on how they got together to Olivia. By the time Abby finished she had to fan herself. Olivia had only thought Gray as her partner in crime and a very sweet brother-in-law. With Abby's account she realized that he was really a good catch for any woman and if that was Abby then all the better.

"Abbs, if you love Gray, why the hell did you say no to his proposal?"

"Liv, don't play dumb. I'm sure my lunk head and your fish sticks have given you all the intel on this little delima. I don't want a pity proposal because I'm pregnant."

"Ok, time to come clean. I really had no idea you were seeing Gray until I went to his cabin yesterday to ask you guys if you wanted to go into town. To my surprise, I walked in on one of your sexcapades with Gray. I wasn't snooping and I did call out to the two of you, but you didn't answer. So I backed up and put the squeeze on Fitz. He told me everything."

"Swell...so are you mad at me?"

"Only because you kept this monumental secret from me. Abbs, I'm your best friend. What did you think I would say?"

Abby whined out, "Liv, I just wanted it for me. I didn't want comments, I didn't want advice. I only wanted to live in the moment with Gray as long as we could. You Grant's are a bit much to take sometimes and I just wanted to enjoy this. The breakup with David was really bad Liv and I didn't want to feel that pain either when people would judge us."

Liv listened to everything that Abby said and it made perfect sense to her, and she had no problems with the way they kept it a secret for so long.

"Red, I hear you and I understand exactly what you are saying, but I have one question and I want you to think about it hard. If you weren't pregnant and Gray asked you to marry him now, would you say yes?"

Abby got up to pace back and forth taking in her friends words and her heart in equal measure. She stopped, turned to Olivia with tears in her eyes and said yes.

"Then why in the hell would you not say yes?"

"Liv, I just don't want Gray to think that he is trapped into a situation. He is so honorable and I'm not quite sure he wants to do it for me or the baby."

"I see I'm going to have to pull out the big guns then. Abby, Gray bought your ring six months ago. He wanted to ask you then, but he thought it was to early into your relationship. And why am I telling you this? Would you have believed him after you said no?"

They both start laughing hysterically as they fell on the couch. It had been to long since they had spent such quality time together and she missed Abby a lot.

"So...should we go and put lunk head and fish sticks out of their misery?"

"Na, lets let them stew a little longer. I want to make sure that Fitz and Gray think they owe me a big favor."

"Liv you are an evil woman."

"Learned it from the best!"

* * *

Two days later Abby and Gray were married at the main lodge of the Grant compound with her parents in attendance.

Fitz and Olivia couldn't help but think that Xmas was the best they had ever experienced. Throughout the entire rush to get thing set up for Gray and Abby, Fitz and Olivia had put their baby making task on hold until they got home. They would have plenty of time to make a baby when they got home, and Olivia needed time to get off her birth control anyway.

They noticed that Sam was not feeling very well when they got home. He was sluggish, feverish, and had a really bad cough. She took him to the doctor that Monday. She was thankful that Fitz could join her at the doctor's office. Sam didn't want to leave Olivia's lap and he whimpered the whole time that she or Fitz held him, she was a little frantic. They took him in and did all the necessary test as well as blood. Thirty minutes later the doctor came in and said that he needed to send them over to Texas Children's Cancer and Hematology Center.

"It appears that Sam has Leukemia."


	3. Chapter 3

_**Happy Scandal Thursday! Come on Gladiators lets keep it going for the summer. Thank you all who have reviewed, favored, and are following this story. It means a lot to me. I do not own Scandal or its characters.**_

* * *

Fitz and Olivia just sat there for a moment, making sure that they heard the doctor right. They look back and forth between them to make sure that they each heard the same thing. Olivia couldn't get a word out, she just sat there holding Sam and letting her tears fall.

Fitz choked out, "Leukemia? How bad is it?"

"Mr. and Mrs. Grant, I've sent Sam's results over to the hospital. An Oncologist will tell you how bad and what treatments they will pursue to get this under control."

All Fitz could do was shake his head and hugged his wife and son to him until he could muster the strength to get up and get them to their car. When they got to the car, Fitz had to pry Sam out of Olivia's hands to put him in his car seat. Then he had to carry Olivia to the other side and set her in the car. He got into the car, and grabbed the wheel. He could barely breath, but he needed to get his head together for his wife and son. When he finally gathered himself he turned and began to talk to Olivia.

Liv, I need you to look at me for a moment."

He looked back in the car seat, Sam was already asleep. Olivia was almost catatonic, so he grabbed her face to turn to him and used his thumbs to stroke her cheeks until she seemed to come back to him.

"Liv, I need you to be strong for Sam now. We can't fall apart, we have to see him through this. He's already going to be scared and I'm sure there is going to be a great deal of shots and IV's that he is going to have to deal with. We have to be strong for him. So if you want to break down now, do it! Once we cross the threshold of the hospital we become Gladiators for our son. Do you hear me?"

She shook her head in acknowledgement and buried her face in Fitz chest and she screamed and sobbed until she was ready to face the situation again.

* * *

It took them about an hour to get to the hospital. They admitted Sam right away and they started to do a work up on his condition. It took most of the morning before they saw their Oncologist Dr. Rice. She was a small black woman who had a warm face and Sam really took to her right away. Liv had heard that most Oncologist tended to be a little aloof and cold, but Dr. Rice was the complete opposite. She held Sam in her arms as she explained what was wrong with him and she tried to make Sam understand how he was sick.

What it came down to was that Sam had Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. It is most common in children.

"Here's where we might have a leg up on this disease is that we may have caught it quickly. This type of leukemia needs to be treated right away. I want to start a cycle of chemotherapy for this guy right away. I'm not going to sugar coat it, he is going to be one sick little guy for a while."

Fitz asked the question no parent wants to ask, "what if that doesn't work?"

"Mr. Grant we'll cross that bridge when we get there, but I would recommend that you line up any bone marrow donors in your immediate family. Siblings, yourself, your wife, and any other family member that might be a match for Sam, have them lined up and ready to go just in case."

* * *

Fitz agreed with Olivia that she should stay with Sam while he went home to make phone calls to the family and to tell Fitzgerald and Lily what was happening with Sam. He was dreading telling the kids more than anything. His family had distance and he didn't have to deal with their emotions right away, but Fitzgerald and Lily were another story.

When he got home, Huck was with Lily. When Fitz saw her he nearly broke down. Lily and Sam were like two sides of the same coin, and he didn't know how Lily would take being away from Sam. He had a small thought, but he would leave it until Fitzgerald got home from school. Olivia had called Huck from the hospital while Lily was napping and he knew what was going on. Of course Lily had no idea what was going on and she was her regular Daddy's girl self. She torpedoed Fitz as soon as he came in the door. He picked her up and hugged her until Lily called Fitz's name.

"Daddy, why are you so sad? Aren't you glad to see me?" She smiled.

Tears were on the edges of his eyes as he answered her. "Of course I am baby, I will always be happy to see you."

She seemed to hear what he said, but she still could tell that something was wrong with her father. She kissed his cheek and snuggle her head into his neck and shoulder like Olivia does. When she thinks of it she asked, "where is Sam and Mommy?"

"I'm going to tell you and Fitzgerald about that as soon as he gets home from school. So can you give Daddy another hug because Lily's hugs are the best." He smiled.

She gave him a hug and just kept hugging around his neck while Fitz just sat down and rocked her and they waited.

Fitzgerald was only thirty minutes behind Fitz as he bust through the doors at home. He went straight to the kitchen to get something to eat. He was half way into making a sandwich when Fitz came in with Lily. He went over and put his arm around his head and kissed the top of his head.

"Hey buddy, how was school."

"Fantastic Dad, I was nominated for class President today!"

Fitzgerald looked up into his fathers eyes and he knew something was wrong. All thoughts of making a sandwich vanished.

"Dad, is there something wrong? I haven't seen that face since GG Candy died."

Fitz motioned for Fitzgerald to come into the living room as he sat down with Lily on his lap and his son parked under his arm.

"I have some bad news about Sam. Mommy and I took Sam to the doctors today and they say that he as Leukemia. He is in the hospital and he has to get medicine to make him feel better, but before he feels better he is going to feel really sick."

Fitz was trying to keep it as simple as he could for Lily. He knew that Fitzgerald would know everything he needed to know just by telling him what he had. The reactions he got were rather expected. Lily shook her head taking in what her father said as just facts. Fitzgerald on the other hand burst out into tears. Fitz was at a complete loss with Fitzgerald, he was always so adult about everything that happens that he sometimes forgot that he was only ten. Fitz pulled him in tight and hugged him until he could stop crying. Lily stroked his cheek and kissed his hair to try to sooth him. Once Fitzgerald gathered himself back together he wanted to know more about the type of Leukemia he had and what was the course of treatment. Fitz told them both to get ready, he would take them to see Sam and Mommy, and he would see if Dr. Rice was still around so she could answer Fitzgerald's questions in detail.

While he was home he had enough time to call Big F and his folks. When the kids went to get ready he called Eli to let him know what was going on. He needed him to come down here, for Olivia's sake as well as Sam's.

* * *

While Fitz was away they started Sam on his first round of chemo. They prepped Olivia with the side effects that Sam may develop which included fatigue, pain, nausea, constipation, and diarrhea. By the time he finished the treatment the vomiting started. Luckily they had medicines to manage that, but he was out like light as soon as they got his vomiting under control.

Before Fitz arrived with the kids, Big F had already made it to the hospital. He took Olivia in his arms as she silently let her tears fall. He told Olivia that everyone was on their way. Caleb was driving in from school at University of Texas in Austin. Big F had sent the private jet to pick up the rest of the crew in Seattle. Uncle Teddy and his family would be here in two days. Gray was out to sea, but Abby got a hold of him and let him know what was happening. She would be on a flight that night.

"Olivia, if I could take Sam's place I would do it in a heartbeat. That little boy is the sweetest thing I've seen in my life and he doesn't deserve this at all."

"Thank you Big F. I'm so glad you came down. Fitz will be back with the kids in a few minutes if you would like to stay."

"Of course I'll stay. I want to see Sam when he wakes up."

They settled into a contented silence by Sam's bed. Big F held Olivia's hand while she held Sam's.

* * *

By the time Fitz got Fitzgerald and Lily to the hospital it was dinner time. The hospital was really liberal with bringing food into the hospital, so Fitz stopped by Sam's favorite barbeque place and got him a sandwich and frys. He wasn't so sure if he would be able to keep it down, but he wanted to do something special for him.

When they got to the room he saw Big F holding Olivia's hand and Sam asleep in his bed. He opened the door to let Lily and Fitzgerald in to see their brother. As if on que, Sam opened his eyes in time to see Lily crawling into bed with him. She kissed and hugged her brother and laid down beside him with her arm around his neck for him to lay his head on. Fitzgerald went to the other side and got in the bet too and kissed his little brother on the forehead. In all this Sam never said a word, he just smiled and laid there like it was any other normal day for him. He was really pale from the treatment. Big F got up and kissed him on the forehead and rubbed his hand on his tummy which made Sam smile.

"Hey buddy, I brought you your favorite barbeque sandwich. Do you think you can eat a little for me?"

Sam's mouth was a little dry, "I'll try Daddy."

"That's my boy."

Olivia asked Lily and Fitzgerald to move to the end of the bed as she brought the tray for food over so they all could eat on Sam's bed. She scooted onto the bed to help Sam eat. They all ate as if they were at home having dinner as usual. Sam could only get a few bites down before he told her he felt sick again. They cleared off everything after dinner was over. Fitz wanted his family's routine to stay as long as it could. He had Fitzgerald sit in a chair across the room to do his homework. They raised Sam's bed up into a sitting position so he and Lily could play and talk their twin talk. Fitz brought Olivia a change of clothes and books to keep her occupied for the night. Fitz asked Big F to step outside with him for a bit.

"Grandpa I'm so glad your here. I'm trying to be so strong for my family, but it's so hard seeing my son look like a ghost already and we just started the treatment."

Big F could see the tears forming in his grandson's eyes and he just pulled him in for a hug and he let Fitz lose it for a moment.

"Little F, you're not alone. You don't always have to be so strong alone. I know you want to put on a brave face for your family and you should, but when it becomes to hard, you need to step back and let one of us hold you up until you can stand up on your own again. Now I need you to dry your face, go splash some cold water on your face, come back and be the strong man I know you are."

He looked into Fitz's eyes as he shook his head. Big F went back inside to say his goodbyes. He knew they needed some time to themselves to digest what was happening and they needed to do it as a family.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Happy Mother's Day to all my fanfic folks and gladiators. Hope you are having a great day. I do not own Scandal or any of its characters. I would like to give credit to the National Institutes of Health's Library for all the medical jargon in this chapter. Also, thanks to everyone for your reviews. I'm sorry if this is making you sad, but spoiler alert, it's not going to get better in this chapter. **_

* * *

The Grant family descended on the hospital like a horde of locust. Fitz and Olivia needed the help. Even though it was only 48 hours after the diagnosis and hospitalization. They knew right away they were going to need help with someone always being by Sam's side. One thing that Fitz did was make sure that Lily could stay with Sam. They had tried to put them in separate rooms when they were two, but it went so badly that they began to share a room. Neither could sleep well without the other. Although they had their moments of independence, in the most important day-to-day, they were inseparable. So they got Lily a bed next to Sam. He seemed to rest better knowing that she was there. Lily may have been a diva, but she knew something was really wrong with Sam and she spent every moment she could comforting him and talking to him in their very private twin talk.

Fitzgerald cornered Dr. Rice as soon as she came back in to check on Sam. He had done some research and he had a whole sheet of questions for the doctor. They were so glad that they had Dr. Rice, she answered every one of Fitzgerald's questions without even a hint of annoyance. She was actually really impressed by how intelligent and grown up his questions were. She told him that if he liked she could take him to the lab and introduce him to some of the research scientist on staff. Fitzgerald was over the moon. He always dealt with stress by focusing on a task or problem he thought he could solve. It quieted all his fear for Sam for the moment.

It was so good to see Abby. She was able to get Gray on the phone the next day, so Sam could say hi to him out at sea. Truth be told, Gray was Sam's favorite uncle. They both shared a kind of sweetness that people sometimes took for granted. When he finally got to speak to Gray he was so excited. He could not for the life of him understand how he could talk to him while he was out to sea. Gray said he would call him each week to talk to him.

* * *

Abby managed to stay for two weeks before she had to get back to work. Eli Pope had taken a leave of absence. As soon as he arrived he could see that Olivia was near breaking point and they were just getting started. Cecilia Grant was there for the long haul. She took over house duty so Fitz and Olivia could be at the hospital as much as they could. Michael filled in for Fitz at Grant Oil as well as Big F when needed. Uncle Teddy and his crew came down for moral support. Caleb was at the hospital every weekend since he was at UT Austin. He helped to ease some of the kids anxiety with his usual antics and pranks. Blake came in from Stanford where he was in his PH.d program in Physics. He made like a miniature planetarium out of an overhead projector. Each night before Sam and Lily went to sleep he would fire it up and talk about all the stars and planets he had lit up for them. Huck no matter who was there, came every night to sit with Sam. He would let whoever was sitting with Sam rest while he attended to any of his needs.

Olivia and Fitz were so blessed with how much love and devotion they got from their family and friends, but Sam was not responding to any of the treatments he was going through. After a month of treatment Dr. Rice brought them in for a conference.

"Remember when I told you to get bone marrow donors lined up? We've arrived at that bridge now. Sam is not responding to any of our treatments. He is going to have to have a bone marrow transplant for him to survive this."

Fitz and Olivia both began to cry.

"Once you find a donor, we will give Sam high-dose chemotherapy, radiation, or both are given to kill any cancer cells. This also kills all healthy bone marrow that remains, and allows new stem cells to grow in the bone marrow. A stem cell transplant is done after chemotherapy and radiation is complete. The stem cells are delivered into his bloodstream usually through a tube called a central venous catheter. The process is similar to getting a blood transfusion. The stem cells travel through the blood into the bone marrow. Most times, no surgery is needed. The donor will have minor surgery done under general anesthetic . This means the donor will be asleep and pain-free during the procedure. The bone marrow is removed from the back of both hip bones. The amount of marrow removed depends on the weight of the person who is receiving it. Do you have any questions?"

Fitz asked again, "what if this doesn't work?"

Dr. Rice looks down at her shoes and looks back up, "then you need to prepare you family for Sam's death."

Olivia couldn't take it anymore, she had to get out of there. She just took off she couldn't listen to anymore.

When Fitz finally found her, she was in the hospital chapel on her knees praying so hard that she did not hear him come in. Fitz knelled beside her and pulled her into him and rested his head on top of hers and just stroked her back as she sobbed uncontrollably. Olivia could feel the tears on top of her hair when she looked up at Fitz. He had been so strong for her and the family that she forgot how this was affecting him as much as her. His tears sparked a fire in her to try to be strong for him for once.

"Fitz baby, I know I'm being all kinds of hysterical now, but my gut is telling me that Sam is going to be alright."

Fitz looks into her eyes and says, "your gut has never been wrong."

They both laugh a little, but they both knew that crying time is over, they needed to go update everyone and see who was going to be Sam's donor.

* * *

Everyone had gotten on the donor registry including Gray. He had a sample take on board ship and results sent in. Even Abby, Huck, and Harrison got tested. Dr. Rice pulled everyone who was still on site into Sam's room.

"We have only one match and it belongs to a Grayson Grant."

Olivia and Fitz hugged each other like their life depended on it.

"As soon as Grayson gets here we can start the procedure."

"Ummm...that might take a minute or two, Gray is in the Arabian sea now commanding an aircraft carrier." Fitz said.

"Time is of the essence. We only have a small window now to get this done. We need him here within the next five days or this might not work."

Fitz jumped on the phone and called Gray right away. They had to wake him up, but he told him that he needed to get here as fast as he could.

"Fitz, there is a problem with that. I can't go into detail, but we are on lock down on a covert mission now. I don't know when I'll be able to get off the ship."

Fitz dropped to his knees in the hallway.


	5. Chapter 5

Big F had just rounded the corner when he saw Fitz hit the floor. He hurried over to him and took the phone out of his hand to find out who he was talking to.

"Who is this?"

"It's me Grandpa, Gray."

"Why is Fitzgerald on his knees on the floor?"

"He just told me that I'm Sam's donor match and I can't get off the ship now. There is a five-day window and I don't know when this mission is going to be over."

"Listen to me Gray, work your official channels in your chain of command and I'll work my unofficial ones in Washington. I spent a lot of money on a lot of campaigns over the years and now it's time to cash in my chips. I'll get your brother together, you find out how long it would take you to leave the ship and get back to the states. If you can give me a location for you to disembark, I'll send the plane to pick you. Gray, I don't care what Admiral you have to wake up in the middle of the night but you've got to do it. Take care son, and keep you head down."

Big F hung up, got Fitz off the ground and walked him over to the waiting room. He sat Fitz down in a chair. He could tell that he was at his wit's end.

Big F softly put his arm around Fitz as he sat there with his head in his hands.

"Little F you can't give up now, we have work to do."

"Grandpa, I have no control over what happening to Sam. I can't go back in there and tell my family that Gray is stuck on his ship due to a mission. My family looks to me for solutions, and frankly I've run out."

"Listen to me, I didn't have the luxury to save Candy. She had a massive heart attack and she died in my arms. You have a chance to save your son and I'm not going to let you give up on him now. So let's think! Who in Washington have we contributed to their campaign could get Gray off that ship asap?"

Fitz pulled his face out of his hands and started to think.

"Grandpa we can go all the way to the top! We contributed big bucks to the President's campaign. I have his chief of staff's number in my Rolodex at the office. His name is Cyrus Beene. They owe us big time!"

"Let me get a hold of Michael at work and I'll get the number. I'll give him a call and explain the situation. You go back into the room explain everything to Olivia and the family. I'll also put the Grant airplane on standby when we get a location on Gray."

For the first time in months, Fitz felt really hopeful about Sam's situation. He really needed the cavalry to come to the rescue on this one.

* * *

Michael got the number to Big F and he dialed it right away.

"Cyrus Been's office, how may I direct your call?"

"This is Fitzgerald Grant Sr, from Grant Oil calling for Mr. Beene."

"One moment sir."

"Big F, how the hell are you?"

"I'll just be fine Cyrus if you're the man who can save my Great Grandson's life."

For a man who had always had a come back in any conversation, this time he didn't. As Big F heard the silence on the other line he proceeded to tell Cyrus what he needed and he needed it done yesterday.

"Listen Big F, the President as well as myself would love to help you, but I've been briefed on what is going on with Gray's ship and we can't have the Captain of an air craft carrier leaving in the middle of an important mission."

"Cyrus, I know the importance of what Gray is doing, but a life is on the line and I need him here in Houston pronto. Can't you swap out a Captain temporarily?"

Cyrus paused again to see if Big F's suggestion might work.

"Listen Big F, let me run this by the President and I'll pull the Secretary of the Navy in to see how we can make this work."

"Cyrus, let me know if there is anything I can do to make this work. We have our company jet on standby to pick Gray up. We can sure as hell drop off someone if you need that to happen."

"Big F, I have everything you've suggested. Let me go talk to the President now."

"Cyrus, if you can pull this off, I will forever be in your debt as well as this family."

"No problem Big F, you've stood by our side before anyone else believed in President Murphy, we would be honored to return the favor now. Wait for my call, it might take a few hours but I'll get something done."

"Will do Cyrus."

Big F hung up and blew out a breath of relief. He thought to himself, that no one was dying on his watch if he could help it.

* * *

Big F went back into the hospital room and told everyone about the conversation. All they could do was just wait for Cyrus to call back.

It took nearly five hours before Cyrus got back to Big F.

"Listen Big F, we have a Captain here at the pentagon who will take Gray's place aboard the ship. There is a catch. You have a one hour window to do the switch. We need your plane here in DC as soon as you can get here. Once Captain Arnold is on board, he will be flown to Jordan. You have one hour on the runway to make the switch. We could only arrange that time frame due to the current operation. If you miss the rendezvous site, Gray will be flown back to his ship. We are on dangerous ground here with this swap."

"Don't fret yourself, I'll call King Abdullah II myself and give him my thanks. We do business with him and he is a good friend to this family. Don't worry Cyrus our plane will take off as soon as I get off the phone. Just to make sure that all goes well, my Grandson Michael will be flying with the plane. If there are any hang ups he will be able to handle any international problem that might arise. Cyrus tell the President I'm in his debt."

"Fitzgerald, we are repaying a debt, you don't owe us a thing. Good luck to you. The President and First Lady have your Great-Grandson in their prayers."

Big F didn't even give everyone in the room time to say anything, he called Michael gave him the instructions and the time they had arranged for the pick up in Jordan."

"Michael...if your one minute late, Gray goes back. Make us proud son."

"Grandpa tell Fitz to get Sam ready for the operation. I'll get Gray or I'll die trying."

Grandpa got off the phone, there were no questions after listening to his conversation with Michael. There were only prayers that they make the exchange on time.

* * *

Gray was briefed on board about the switch. He was going to be flown by helicopter off the ship to a Jordanian military air strip. He knew that he had only an hour window to make the switch. His marine guards were also briefed that they could not stay a minute later than specified.

It took Michael three hours to make it Ronald Reagan National. They taxed up to a gate never letting their engines stop. Captain Arnold jumped on as they taxied back out toward the runway. As they waited in line to take off. The co-pilot came back into the cabin and told them they were in a holding pattern. There was an international flight coming in with an emergency. It was going to take about thirty minutes before he could take off.

"Can you make up the time to our meet point? Yes, but we'll be cutting it completely close. The Captain here might have to do a tuck and roll out the door." He smirked.

"Hey any landing I walk away from is a good one." He laughed.

Michael got on the phone and called Cyrus Beene and told him what was happening. Within minutes, the co-pilot said they had been cleared to take off before the flight landed. They strapped in.

The Grant pilots were former Air Force and they knew the importance of this flight. By the time the pilot turned the corner on the runway he had his engines at full throttle taking off. He only used half the runway to take off. He climbed to forty thousand feet as fast as the Gulfstream II could manage. Once they leveled off. The pilot came back to talk to Michael.

"We are going to have to refuel on the way back. We should stop in Ireland. It should take about an hour before we will be able to take off again. Our flight to Jordan will take about twelve hours give or take. We should have forty-five minutes to make the switch in the window. I'm going to take a nap, and the co-pilot will wake me when we get close. I suggest everyone do the same. If you would like to call your Grandfather let the co-pilot know and he'll patch you through to talk to him."

"No, I don't want to call until we have Gray and we are in the air on the way back."

The pilot nodded and headed back to the bed in the back.

* * *

Gray was the first to reach the rendezvous point. It was night and when they landed they were greeted by a member of the royal house. He expressed a greeting from the king himself and gave the king's hope and prayers for his nephew's life. Gray was touched by the sentiment.

Under the cover of darkness the plane landed again on an air field that was not lit up until they approached for landing. They landed, taxied over toward the terminal. They never powered down their engines as they came to a stop. Captain Arnold jumped out and just shook Gray's hand as they passed each other. Gray jumped on board and they took off again. The entire exchange took ten minutes. The plane taxied toward the runway again as fast as it could manage and took off in the same fashion as in Washington.

As soon as the leveled off. Michael and Gray got up and hugged each other. Gray wanted to know how Sam was when he left. He told him he wasn't doing well, they needed to get home as soon as they could. They were using up at least three days of his five-day window to get him there.

"Lets call Fitz to let him know that I have you." Gray agreed as the headed to the cockpit.

"Hey big brother! I've got the package. How is Sam doing?"

"He's holding on. He has his sister here as his mouth piece and she is keeping him occupied as well as his big brother."

Fitz walked out of the room to talk to his brothers.

"Mike and Gray, you have to push that plane to its limits. Sam's taken a turn for the worst we need you here fast. I don't know what I'll do if we lose him."

They could hear their brother choke up a bit.

"Listen Fitz we have to stop in Ireland to refuel. As soon as we get in the air, I'll let you know how long it will take us to get back. Tell the hospital to get the OR prepped for Gray. We will be there Fitz. You've never lets us down and we won't let you down."

After they got off, the pilot said he had an idea. He said there was an Air Force base in Lakenheath England. If they got permission to land there, they had a high power gas refueling technique that could cut their time down to almost nothing. It's similar to the flying tankers. Michael got on the horn again to call Cyrus Beene. He got them permission to land and refuel.

It took them thirty minutes to refuel and get back underway. Everyone knocked out for the rest of the flight. Nerves were on edge and it finally got to them. When Michael and Gray woke up they were landing. When the plane got off the runway, Big F met the plane before they got to the terminal. He had a car and police escort to get them to the hospital. Everyone minute was crucial now.

They jumped in the car and took off at break neck speed. Gray and Michael gave Big F a hug and sat back for the trip the hospital. When they got there Gray had barely enough time to take off his clothes as they rushed him to the OR. Sam had the chemo and radiation the day before so he was prepped to receive the bone marrow.

Everyone gathered on the OR floor waiting room and hugged each other and prayed. That was all they could do for now. The rest was left in God's hands.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Happy Scandal Thursday Peeps! I hope you've enjoyed the last couple of chapters. Thank you everyone for reviewing, followed, and favored this story. Again I do not own any characters from the TV series Scandal.**_

* * *

They were sitting in the waiting room when Lily who was sitting on her father's lap asked who that lady was that looked like mommy? Fitz leaned down and asked what Lily was looking at.

"The lady over in that chair. She looks like Mommy. She is smiling at me and she said to tell you that she would be in the room with Sam, and she would not let him leave. She said to tell Mommy that she loves her and will protect Sam."

Fitz and Olivia are stunned into silence. There was no one in a chair that Lily was looking at, but they both knew that in their hour of need she had come again. In a way they were comforted by her presence.

"Is she still there Lily?" Olivia asked.

"No, she just smiled at me, blew me a kiss and she got up and left."

Lily went back to what she was doing before as if nothing had happened. Fitz leaned over and pulled Olivia in, kissed her on the side of her head. Olivia let silent tear run down her face, but for the first time in a month, she had hope.

* * *

Abby managed to arrive a few hours after Gray got to the hospital. Gray had already been taken to his room. She went in to see him. He was in a bit of pain, but he was so glad to see his pregnant wife and her little baby bump. He wanted to know if they had heard anything about Sam yet. She said no, she came straight to his room first. He kissed him lightly and told him she would go and check in with Fitz and Liv.

When she got down to the isolation unit she saw the family in the waiting room. Liv and Fitz were in the room with Sam as they were administering the first round of stem cell replacement. They connected a cell-separator machine, blood was removed through a vein in one arm and passed through a filtering machine to separate the stem cells from other blood cells. It's then returned to the body through a vein in the other arm. The procedure usually requires about two sessions lasting two to three hours on successive days. After about an hour after Abby got to the isolation unit, Liv and Fitz came out to give everyone an update.

"Dr. Rice said that Gray made it just in time. She's very hopeful that Sam will make a full recovery. It's going to take at least a year before he gets the all clear, but she likes his chances." Fitz said.

Everyone in the room jumped up and started to hug everyone.

"We're not out of the woods yet, but we have it on good authority that someone is watching out for the little guy. Isn't that right Lily."

Lily just smiled and asked if she could see Sam.

"Baby, it's going to be about a week before you can be near Sam. He can't catch any cold or bugs now in his state. So you can only see him through a window. Fitzgerald you can't see him especially since you go to school with other kids. You might be carrying a bug around with you from school."

"That's ok Dad, I read about the procedure and how Sam will have to stay away from us for a while. I'm cool with it, as long as he gets better."

Fitz went up and squeezed Fitzgerald to him. "That's my boy."

"Hey, I don't get a hug? I'm your special girl Daddy!"

"That you are Lily pad." He picked her up kissed her and tickled her tummy as she squealed.

For now they felt like they might just make it.

* * *

**_A month later_**

After all they had been through Sam finally came home. He had lost his hair and a lot of weight, but he was home. Olivia noticed a little change in him. Sam had always seemed like an introspective kid, but he seemed somewhat quieter than usual. He let Lily gab on, but he rarely put his two cents in anymore. He just either sat there or laid down and listen to her drown on about things. Fitzgerald tried to occupy him by reading to him and carrying him around until he got his strength back. He would always tell him to take him to his tree in the pasture. Olivia asked Fitzgerald if he talked to him at the tree. He said no, all he did was just sit and listen and look. Fitzgerald would sit with him as long as he wanted until he would tell him to take him back to the house. So one night Olivia was putting Sam to bed, she laid down with him and asked him why he wanted to sit out at the tree.

"GG Candy and Grandma Maya always comes to talk to me there. They always have."

Olivia starts to tear up at her son's admission. He turns and looks at his mother and puts his arm around her neck and kisses her.

"Don't cry Mommy, GG Candy tells me things about what is going to happen next and Grandma Maya tells me about Talia."

Olivia looks at Sam with questioning eyes, "who's Talia?"

"My baby sister."

Olivia sits up and pulls Sam into her arms and plants kisses all over his face and rocks her little boy as she cries from joy.

"Did I tell you something sad Mommy?"

"No baby, you told Mommy something really happy.

* * *

Olivia and Fitz had been so worried out of their minds with Sam that they had forgotten their plans to add another Grant to the pot. That same night Liv told Fitz what Sam said. Fitz just looked at his wife as they laid in bed smiled, scooted over and gave her a sweet kiss on the lips.

He pulled back and laid his head on his pillow and said, "you know you've been off the pill now for three months. How about we make Talia?" As he wiggled his eyebrows.

"Tommy I've been so scared out of my wits that I completely forgot about our little pack."

Fitz loved when Olivia called him Tommy. It's was a sweet reminder of how they fell in love and how it had grown. His love for her was carried in the eyes of his children and he couldn't wait to add to that love. This baby though would be extra special after all they had been through with Sam. It had shaken them to the core of who they are. Fitz felt that he needed some time off to be with his family more.

"Liv, what would you say if I said that I want to take the year off as soon as the baby is born? I want us to do something unique in that year. I want to travel to every national park in this country and I want to do it in our air stream. It's not about the parks, it's about the journey I think this family needs to go on. We nearly lost Sam and I want us to bond even more than we are now. Fitzgerald is growing up so fast. Lily...well Lily is Lily, she will always be ok, but Sam has always been a Mama's boy, and I feel like I've never had the time to really get to know him the way you have. If he had died, I would have blamed myself for the rest of my life for not taking that opportunity to know my son. I think you are the luckiest person in the world to spend so much time with our children. I want more time than four hours when I get home and the weekend. I'm going to talk to Grandpa and Michael to see if they will fill in for me while I'm away."

Liv let him finish, "Tommy I would love for you to take the time off, and your right you need to get to know your children a little better. If were going to do this soon, then you need to get busy tonight. We have a baby to deliver."

She smiled and kissed her husband tenderly. Fitz jumped up on the bed and started to jump up and down until he landed on top of Olivia as she squealed with excitement. The spent the entire night making love to each other. In her heart Olivia knew she got pregnant that night and she didn't have to wait long for her answer.


	7. Blake and Dr Rice

_**Hey all you Gladiators. First let me start off giving a shout out to all my brothers and sister that wore the uniform with honor. This is a day to reflect on all that we did and still do for this nation. Sorry for being off my game with this story, but I'm back and this is a longer chapter to try to make up for the lost time. I do not own Scandal or any of its characters.**_

* * *

Another outcome from Sam's illness was budding relationship between Dr. Rice and Blake. Dr. Rice was on call one night and she stopped by Sam's room. As she approached she saw that it was really dark, but she heard voices. She quietly moved into the room and gasped when she saw the universe projected on the ceiling. Sam, Lily, and Blake turned to see Dr. Rice smiling as she looked up at the stars.

Lily was the first to speak.

"Hi Dr. Rice! Do you like our stars? Uncle Blake brought us the universe."

Dr. Rice moved toward the bed where all three were lying and stroked Sam's head to say that they were the luckiest kids in the world to have an uncle to bring the universe to them. Blake blushed a bit, but in that moment he and Dr. Rice's eyes locked as he knew that her statement had a double meaning.

Blake had always been so quiet and introspective. He never was as raucous as his brothers. Blake had his Dad's temperament time ten. He had begun his Ph.d program at Stanford in physics, but since Sam had gotten sick he took a leave of absence. Blake always put his family above everything else in his life.

The spark was lit that night. The only problem was he was painfully shy. Caleb had to ask out a girl so he could attend prom. Blake was six two had the blondes of hair out of all the boys, and he had the bluest eyes, they looked like the Aegean sea. He looked like a Greek god, girls would away flirt with him, but he never picked up on it. He had finished his undergraduate degree at U of Washington in three years with honors. He won a Rhodes scholarship with the help of Liv and completed his masters in lest than two years. There was no doubt that Blake was smart, but when it came to women, he had been hopeless. That night in his nephew's bed changed all of that for him. He knew as soon as he saw her, she was it for him, and he thought he saw the same kind of recognition in Dr. Rice's eyes too. He wasn't sure so he was going to take his problem to a higher power, Liv.

* * *

Liv had taken on her roll as big sister with gusto. Her brother-in-laws held a special place in her heart. Although Michael had been so vocal and close to Liv, she sought to be close to Blake. He was kind of a bigger version of Fitzgerald. Very smart and quiet. She didn't want him to get lost in the shuffle of his brothers. Blake could tell her anything and she would help him with girls, but most of time he would ask for help, it would be too late. So she was really surprised and pleased that he had come to her right away about Dr. Rice, or Suzanne.

"Liv, I need your help and I...I really, really like Dr. Rice. I mean Suzanne."

Considering that Sam was still ill at the time, the welcomed distraction was great for Olivia. She could focus on something other than Sam being ill.

"Have you spoken to her? I mean, have you tried to start-up a conversation with her?"

"No, you know I don't know how to do that. She came by the room last night when I was showing Sam and Lily some stuff on the ceiling. It was the first time I saw her and something happened in my stomach when I looked at her, I think she's it for me Liv. I know I've never really dated anyone, but I felt like my heart was going to beat out of my chest when I saw her. Do you know much about her?"

"No not much, but Fitzgerald has had in-depth conversations with her. He told us she went to Berkley as an undergrad, then on to Yale school of Medicine, and then did her residency at John Hopkins in Pediatric Oncology. So, I would say that she if probably your intellectual equal, and from what I've seen with her interactions with the kids, she would really be good for you and any family you had. You will have super smart kids!" Olivia chuckled.

Blake got that silly grin on his face like Liv had seen on Fitz's when they felt warm and comforted inside.

"Listen, let form a plan of attack you can follow. How about you ask her to go get some coffee with you first. If you like I can come up with some topics of conversations for you to start with."

Blake smiled again and shook his head yes. Liv smiled to herself thinking that this was going to be like pulling teeth to get them together.

* * *

As promised Liv came up with a few topics to get a conversation going with Dr. Rice. She made Blake memorize them and role played with him to loosen him up. The next day Blake went into the hospital with Liv and waited for Dr. Rice to come in on her rounds. What they were not expecting that day was Dr. Rice had a bunch of interns with her. Blake nearly passed out when he saw them all standing in the room with her. Needless to say he didn't ask her out, so Olivia took the initiative and called Dr. Rice back in the room for a moment. She elbowed Blake in the side and then slipped back to Sam and Lily's bed as she crossed both fingers.

"Uhmm...Dr...Dr Rice would you like to get some coffee later after your rounds?" He blushed an incredible shade of red Olivia had never seen, but he kept eye contact with her the whole time as she coached him.

Dr. Rice smiled and gave a little smirk of finally said, "I'd love to get some coffee with you later Mr. Grant."

At first Blake froze when she said yes, but them he replied, "my name is Blake."

"Suzanne. See you in about an hour. Would you like to meet downstairs in the Starbucks?"

"Yes Suzanne that would be fine."

As soon as she left the room Olivia, Sam and Lily gave their Uncle Blake high fives.

"For a minute I thought you were going to faint."

"I almost did, when she said yes it got all fuzzy for a minute. I thought she could hear my heart beating out of my chest."

"You did great Blake. Go on downstairs and see if you can score a nice secluded spot for you two to talk. Remember, always keep eye contact and listen and don't anticipate your next question. You'll miss what she has said if you do."

Blake gave the thumbs up and left like a man on a mission. One Dr. Rice mission.

* * *

Blake and Dr. Rice fell into a routine of having coffee in the morning and looking at the universe from Sam's bed at night. After a week Blake was ready to take her out on a special date. He needed another piece of advice from Liv and Fitz.

"Liv, I asked Suzanne out for dinner and a movie. Where should I take her to eat here in Houston and where is the closes movie theater? Should I let her pick or should I since I asked her out?

"Do you know what she likes to eat?"

"Yeah, she actually has adventures palate."

"Take her to the Hearsay Gastro Lounge. Great atmosphere and bar. You should wear at least some nice jeans and a button up shirt and a jacket and nice shoes. Did you bring any of that stuff?"

Blake blushed as he told Olivia he didn't have any stuff like that, he always wore regular jeans and t-shirts for the lab and school.

"Ok, so we need to go shopping for you. Also, let her pick the movie that way she might surprise you by her taste."

"She already has, we are going to Comic Con in San Diego this year. She is just as nerdy as I am. I really think I'm in love."

The both laughed out loud.

"Later that day Liv and Blake went out and bought him some dress clothes. Even though Blake had his own money. He had never spent any of his inheritance or any money he earned as a research assistant, Olivia bought everything. She loved shopping for Blake he had the perfect body for clothes. She said that Suzanne will love doing this in the future. Everything he tried on made him look like a model. She even took him to a barber to cut his hair and give him a shave. Thank God that Suzanne could look through the unabomber look to see who Blake truly was. When the barber took off the hot towel from the straight razor shave, Blake looked more like Zach Effron than the unabomber. He was hot! When he came back to stand in front of Liv she didn't even know who he was. Her jaw hit the floor. She could say without a doubt that Blake looked hotter than her husband and that was saying a lot.

"Suzanne is not going to know who you are."

Blake smiled and said, "she will, she already knows my heart."

Later as they got back to the house. Before Blake went to get ready for his date, he went into Fitz's office. He needed to have a man to man talk with Fitz.

"Hey Fitz. You got a minute?"

"Sure Dude, come on in shut the door."

Blake sat down on the edge of the winged backed chair that sat in the front of Fitz desk and blew out a breath he had held.

"I need some advice."

"Shoot."

Blake felt his throat get really dry, but he needed his big brothers help with this.

"I...I'm not sure you know this about me, but I've never been with a woman yet. Don't get me wrong, I've come close a few times, but I haven't closed the deal before, and I really want to close the deal with Suzanne. I know it won't be tonight, but I want to be prepared."

Fitz sat back with a look of amazement on his face. Never in his life did he think Blake was a virgin. His entire life everyone had commented how handsome Blake had always been. Hell, he thought he had lost his virginity when he was twelve by all the girl attention he got.

"Listen, don't take this the wrong way, but how in the hell have you not had sex? Girls, used to chase after you all the time."

"Well...for the longest time I really just wasn't interested until puberty hit, and I usually self medicated if you get my drift. Most girls who chased me were dumb and I couldn't hold a conversation with. Then as I went along, I let my work fill in for a social life. Hanging with nerdy dudes all the time doesn't get you laid often. And as your wife said before I got my beard shaved I looked like the unabomber. That pretty much steered a lot of girls away. Suzanne is different in so many ways. I want to clean up for her, I want to do things for her, I dream about her every night. I want to go to bed with her and wake up with her next to me, I've never felt this way about anyone. So, when the time comes I want to be ready."

Fitz smiled at the sight of his nerdy little brother in love. It warmed his heart that in this sad predicament they were in with Sam that something spectacular could come out of it.

"Listen, let her lead the way for you. You'll know what to do when the time is right. Always keep her needs foremost in your mind when you two become intimate. I'm glad you came to me. One last piece of advice. If you love her tell her no matter how too soon you think it might be. The one thing with all of this going on with Sam, is that we don't have the time we think we have. Be bold bro."


	8. Blake and Dr Rice II

_**Hey guys so sorry for not updating in a long time. Life seems to interrupt and I wasn't sure how to continue this story, but I've got a handle on it now. I also want to let everyone know, that the chapters with Blake and Dr. Rice are sort of flashbacks. Sam is quite well and out of the hospital as in previous chapter. For some reason I wanted to develop the relationship with Blake and Dr. Rice, it may be for a reason later or not, we'll see, please bare with me. Again thank you everyone for your reviews and adding me as favorite story and writer. I do not own Scandal.**_

* * *

Blake went to pick Suzanne up from the Hospital. She was standing outside in a pale pink dress with her hair down. She had on tan Louboutin on to give her some height, and her makeup was flawless. Her flowery perfume made her seem like a beautiful flower blowing in the wind. While Blake walked up to her he couldn't believe his eyes, she was prettier than he imagined from that morning. She looked absolutely stunning. He had stopped to get her flowers, but he nearly dropped them when she caught his eye.

Suzanne looked Blake square in the face admiring the handsome young man approaching, but didn't realize it was Blake until he spoke to her.

"You look beautiful tonight Suzanne."

Suzanne felt her heart stop when she realized it was Blake. He was handsome to her under all his scruff, but the man standing in front of her was out of this world gorgeous.

"Blake...is that you?"

"Guilty."

He had on a dark blue and white checkered Ralph Lauren shirt, blazer to match and dark blue jeans ones that fit him in all the right spots. To say that Suzanne's mouth started to water was an understatement.

They stood there just looking at each other for eternity, but it was a few only minutes before Blake gave her the flowers. Blake for the first time found the courage and sweetly kissed her on the lips. They already had a spark between them, but the electricity that began between them in that moment could light up all of Houston. Suzanne opened her eyes and giggle at how sweet Blake's kiss was.

"So...where are we going tonight?"

"I'm taking you to dinner then a movie, of your choice of course. Hopefully something terrible so we can make out in the back of the movies."

Suzanne made a full on belly laugh at Blake's antics, but she was ready to ramp up their relationship. Blake escorted her to his car, open the door for her and gently kissed her on the cheek before he closed it.

Their date started off really well. As they walked into the restaurant, they were seated right away in a very romantic spot in the back. Blake let Suzanne scoot in as he sat next to her in the booth and not opposite from her. He was so attentive to Suzanne's needs. One thing Suzanne was not ready for was all the women looking at them. Their waitress was even trying to shamelessly flirt with Blake, but he never took his eyes from Suzanne the entire night. The waitress just gave up. Blake on the other hand wanted all the men in the bar to recognize that Suzanne was his. Another reason to sit so close to her. He would periodically lean over give her a little peck on her lips especially when she smiled. They were falling in love with each other. Blake knew from that moment on there would be no one else for him, and Suzanne knew that Blake was the one she had waited for all her life.

They finished up a lovely dinner with casual conversation. Blake scooted out of the booth and grabbed Suzanne's hand and walked her back to the car. This time before he opened the car door for her, he pinned he against the car and gave her a full on passionate kiss. He nibbled on Suzanne's lower lip for her to open her mouth as he swept his tongue in to her mouth as they both groaned as they leisurely entangled their tongues in a dance.

When they finally came up for air, Blake said "do you want to go to the movies or back to your place instead?"

Suzanne looked him the eyes for a split second and said, "let's go back to my place."

Blake savagely attacked Suzanne's mouth when she said that. He pressed his hips into her to let her know what he intended with his hard on. Suzanne reached down and stroked him through his pants to let him know that she wanted the same. They pulled apart again and Blake opened the car door for her. They drove to Suzanne's in relative silence, but their hand were entwined the whole way as Blake drove. Blake walked Suzanne to the door of her condo with his hand in the small of her back. When she went to pull out the key, Blake wrapped his arms around her waist and placed his chin on her shoulder as she unlocked the door. As soon as she opened the door Suzanne entered with Blake close on her heels. When she closed the door she pushed Blake against the door and started to kiss him like her life depended on it. Blake responded in kind. They were in such a sex filled haze, that when they finally pulled apart they had taken most of their clothes off.

"Suz, where is your bedroom?"

"Down the hall. Come on I'll show you."

She took his hand and lead him to her bedroom. It gave Blake a moment to calm down, he had to tell Suzanne the truth before the went any further. When she stood by her bed with her swollen plump lips he had created with his kisses, his penis got harder looking at her.

"Suz, I have to tell you something before we do anything else. I won't hold it against you if you don't want to see me again or you want to wait longer, but I have to tell you this."

Suzanne was a little mystified by what he was about to say, she was afraid he had AIDS or herpes. She needed to know, so she gave him a nod to continue.

"Suzanne...I'm still a virgin."

He said it and it hung in the air for a few moments while Suzanne took in what he said. A little smile came across her face.

"Whew! I thought you were going to tell me you had a sexually transmitted disease. This! I can work with. Blake I'm sure you know the mechanics of having sex, if you let me I'll help you learn how to make love."

Blake wasn't embarrassed by his sexual status and the admission did nothing to calm his raging erection, but he was glad that he listened to Fitz about being honest with Suzanne. He told him that part of having sex was trust and opening your heart to someone enough to share their bodies with each other. He now saw what his brother was talking about. They both looked into each others eyes until Blake nodded to let her know he was ready.

He only had his pants left on after the make out session at the front door and Suzanne was left standing in her underwear moving closer to Blake. She knew that Blake did could not be over stimulated for his first time. She needed to keep his heart rate down as much as possible so that she could enjoy his body. She ran her hand from his belt buckle over his chiseled abs to his neck and the back of his head to pull him down into another mind-blowing kiss. Their bodies just molded together out of instinct. What Suzanne didn't know was that Fitz gave Blake a few tips so he wouldn't blow his load to quick. His hands went instinctively to Suzanne's ass as he caressed it and pulled her closer to him. He left her lips and started on her neck so he could take deeper breaths to keep him as calm as possible.

Suzanne moved away from him and grabbed his hand as she slowly guided him toward the bed. Before they could move to the bed Suzanne asked him if he had protection.

"Blake, I'm not on any birth control now. I was giving my body a break from the pill. If you don't have a condom we might just have to do other things to alleviate that erection of yours."

Blake had a thought and he needed to express it to Suzanne.

"Suz, do you trust me?"

"Of course I trust you. I wouldn't have brought you to my home if I didn't."

"I know it might be to early and I am not saying this to just get with you, but I love you. I've never said that to another woman in my life. Except my mom, but lets not think about that now." He chuckled.

"Suzanne Rice you are my fate. Sammy might have brought us together, but we are destined to be together. So I'm asking you to have faith in me now and allow me to make love to you without any protection."

He saw her eyes go wide with his declaration. The one thing that Suzanne Rice was sure of was that tomorrow was not promised to anyone and being in that cancer ward everyday proved that to her.

"Hear me out. We have talked about how there are no guarantees in life and all we have is this moment in time and what we do with it. Society makes the rules about what is proper and what isn't. You have to believe that us getting together now, you being off your pill, and me being a virgin is a perfect storm. I say fuck it! I want it all with you Suzanne. I don't know what the future holds, hell I don't know what tomorrow will bring, but here now, I want to make love to you without either of us fearing getting pregnant. I'm ready to be a dad, and I've seen you with those children on the ward Suzanne. Can you tell me your not ready?"

Suzanne walked toward Blake and wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his chest so she could think for a moment. Blake wrapped his arms around her and let her have her moment to think. After a few minutes that felt like hours, she lifted her head to speak.

"Blake the moment I saw you showing Sam and Lily the universe, I knew that you would be a good dad. I want that with you. I love you to and I'm not afraid of getting pregnant with you. I will say this. I want to be married to you if we do or don't get pregnant tonight. I want to always be honest and open with you without judging. Will you promise me that, that will be our life?"

Blake gets down on one knee and looks up at Suzanne.

"Marry me this weekend. Don't worry about the details me and my family will arrange everything. I will have Grandpa fly in your family from where ever. They can stay at both ranches. Say yes because you love me enough to take a leap of faith with me."

Suzanne gets tears in her eyes as she says, "yes."

Blake can't contain his joy. He jumps up and swings Suzanne in a circle until he stops and kisses her with such passion to make both their toes curl. They did the deed and Suzanne was able to help Blake take his time the first time. He seemed to take to it like fish to water as Suzanne found out after the fifth round ended. She wasn't sure she was pregnant, but after that night she wouldn't have to wait long to find out.

* * *

The next morning found Suzanne and Blake entwined together in bed. Blake woke us first and just stared at Suzanne. He thought he was going to love waking up to her from now on. He finally found his happiness like his brothers. He couldn't wait to get the wedding plans underway. He waited until Suzanne woke up before he was on her again for morning sex. He thought that was by far the best idea he had in his life, but shower sex was just as good in his estimation. Blake thought even a lifetime of love-making with Suzanne would never be enough for him. Suzanne thought she had created a monster. She was sore, but she also thought she was going to have a giddy up in her step thanks to Blake's big cock. He had girth as well as length. She praised Jesus a few time the night before for that cock. The only thing that saved her from being totally incapacitated was she had to go work. She threw on her scrubs and her white coat and Blake put his clothes back on, but he decided to go comado. He felt kind of manly that morning. He took Suzanne to the diner by the hospital for breakfast since he had to drop her at the hospital. He said his goodbyes and zoomed over to Fitz and Olivia's.


	9. A Wedding

_**Hey everyone! Thank you for all the reviews you guys have written. They continue fuel my writing. I hope you like this latest chapter. Let me know what you think. I do not own Scandal.**_

* * *

When Blake arrived at the ranch. Olivia was finishing up breakfast with Fitz, Sam and Lily. He had decided to spend the morning with his family. Fitzgerald had already gotten on the bus. So they had lounged around the table with the twins.

"Someone had a long night." Fitz smirked as his brother came in to the kitchen.

Blake blushed slightly as he tousled Sam and Lily's hair.

"Hey there kidlets! Do you want to help Uncle Blake with a secret mission?"

Both kids threw up their hands and yelled they were ready.

"Great because I have big news for everyone. Suzanne and I...are getting married this weekend!"

Sam and Lily stood up in their seats with raised hands over their heads in triumph at the news. Fitz and Olivia were stunned into silence.

"Hey Blake, can I talk to you in my office for a minute?"

"Sure big brother."

They made their way to his home office and he closed his door.

"Listen Blake, I'm not the poster child for advocating waiting to get married, seeing as how at the grand old age of 18 I tied the knot, but I did know Olivia for at least nine months before we got married. I just want to slap on my big brother hat for a moment to make sure you've thought this through. Don't get me wrong I actually believe that you have pick the right woman and I have no doubt that you two will be happy together, but tell me why so quick?"

"Let me start by asking a question Fitz. How did you know that Olivia was it for you?"

Fitz leaned back in his chair and blew out a deep breath and answered.

"The moment I saw her, I saw it all. My life with her, our children and grandchildren. In that split second of clarity, that being married to her, I would never in this lifetime regret. She spoke to my soul when I looked in those eyes, and I can truly say that what I saw and what I experience is so much better than I could have imagined."

Blake looked in his brother's eyes and smiled.

"I think you would understand better than anyone, that nothing is promised to us after the ordeal with Sam, and I will not spend another hour, minute, or second without Suzanne in my life as my wife. You should know that after last night, I'm almost sure she's pregnant. She wasn't on any birth control and I didn't use any. I want this so much it physically hurts. I am not rushing anything, I'm moving toward my destiny."

Fitz smiled got up from his seat and brought his brother into a hug.

"Here I thought I was the only one in the family who went after what they wanted regardless of what people said. I'm proud of you Blakey. So, let's get this show on the road. I'm sure Liv has already mapped out the entire ceremony by now."

They both laughed out loud as they headed for the kitchen.

* * *

They were not far off the mark with Liv, she said it would be nice to have the ceremony at Big F's due to Grandma Candy's beautiful garden. It had a gazebos in it already.

You would of thought that everyone would have been shocked at the hast at which Blake was getting married, but after the all the drama with Sam's illness. The family was due a little happiness and they reveled in adding another Grant to the group.

Blake pretty much moved in with Suzanne for the week. Thank goodness that Liv had taken over the operation. Blake and Suzanne would not come up for air in their love-making sessions. They spent every waking moment in bed. By Thursday Olivia had it with their shenanigans and made Suzanne stay at their home and sent Blake over to Big F's place. That gave Olivia enough time to go and secure a dress for Suzanne. As luck would have it and Lily's assistance they found the dress in the first bridal shop they stopped at. Fitz had his marching orders to get the tuxes for all the men. Blake pulled Fitz aside to tell him who he wanted as his best man.

"Fitz, I've decided on my best man."

"Ok, who is it?"

"I want Sam to be my best man. He brought Suzanne in my life and I want this day to be a celebration for him being in remission as well."

Fitz eyes filled with tears at his brother's request.

"I'd be proud that he would be your best man. You'll have to ask him yourself, but we would be more than happy to see this happen."

"Sweet, I'll ask him later."

Since it was so last-minute the only Grant men in on the wedding would be Fitz, Fitzgerald, Caleb, Sam, and Michael. Caleb and Michael were going to be ushers. Sam, Fitz and Fitzgerald were going to be groomsmen. After all the fittings they headed back out to Fitz's ranch. Blake and Sam walked out and sat under Sam's tree.

"Well buddy, I have to ask you something really important."

"I'll do it uncle Blake. I will be your best man."

Blake's mouth hung open at Sam's admission. Maybe he heard him in the shop.

"I didn't hear you in the shop Uncle Blake. GG Candy said you would ask. She also said to name him Joshua after her father."

"Name who?"

"The baby Auntie Suzanne is going to have."

Sam looked up at Blake and gave him a wide tooth grin as he watched his Uncle do the same. They sat under the tree for a good while just taking in the fresh air and knowledge of a new little Grant was on the way.

* * *

Friday turned in chaos on wheels. Suzanne's family had arrived and things didn't go very well for Blake with Suzanne's parents. Her father in particular. He was pissed that Blake had failed to ask his blessing before he proposed. Suzanne's brother's were just as pissed, for a moment after they arrived at Big F's ranch, Olivia thought a fight was going to break out. It looked like the Hatfield's and McCoy's. Luckily cooler heads prevailed and the women in the group settled everything down to a dull roar. The wedding was the next day that morning. Suzanne and Blake didn't want to wait another minute.

That night after dinner Blake pulled Suzanne aside to take a walk with him. He took her out by the cattle pasture as they stood and waited for sun down. They stood in silence wrapped in each others arms until Blake spoke.

"Suz, I know that we are doing some things off script, but I wanted to give you this before we get married."

He stepped a little away from her and pulled out the most magnificent diamond solitaire ring she had ever seen. Even in the moon light it sparkled. Blake dropped down to one knee.

"Suzanne Aria Rice, will you do me the honor of marrying me tomorrow?"

Suzanne cracked up and threw her head back laughed so hard her stomach ached. She looked down at Blake as he still waited for her answer. She got down on her knees and grabbed his face with his hands.

"Blake Edward Grant, you are my heart, your are my soul. From this day until the end I will love you with all that I am."

She kissed him so tenderly that Blake teared up. His dream of a wife and family were finally coming true.

As they walked back toward the house the party was in full swing with all the Grant family and friends there for the pre-wedding party. Luckily a great number of Suzanne's family lived down the road in New Orléans, so she had a few relatives in support on her side. When they walked back into the party, Suzanne showed off her engagement ring. Her mother and sister-in-laws were impressed. His brother's, father and Big F slapped Blake on the back and snuck him away to have the traditional scotch and cigar celebration before the marriage. As the party wound down Blake and Suzanne were on the dance floor dancing in their own bubble until Blake's brother's picked him up and took him to the car to stay at Fitz's. All the girls stayed at Big F's place, who was so pleased to have so many people at the ranch again.

The next day went on without a hitch. Blake had gotten matching platinum wedding bands for them. He had hers inscribed with, _thank you for your trust in me. _

He would let her look at it on their honeymoon, which Suzanne had no idea she was going on. Blake had talked to the head of Pediatric medicine and got his wife off for a week. He wanted to show her his life in California before they decided who would move. So Fitz left the jet to their disposal. They were going to fly to San Francisco for two days so he could be her personal tour guide. Then one of his buddies was dropping off his Land Rover and they were going to Napa for an overnight stay, then they were going to cruz down the Pacific coast highway and take as much time as they liked in the coastal towns down to LA. Then they would fly back to Houston.

The wedding was wonderful and really lacked any formality that most wedding usually had. They had an open-pit barbecue for lunch and a pool party for the reception. They even had a slip and slide for the kids, but a few adults had to try it out too. By dinner time Blake and Suzanne had left for the airport already and the party just continued into the night.

Fitz and Olivia were by the side of the pool swaying with each other as they looked at their children knocked out on two lounge chairs.

"Shouldn't we go and gather up our brood and head home?"

"We should, but I have to muster up my strength to hoist Fitzgerald up now, he's getting so big."

They continued to dance some more before Olivia spoke.

"I love these moments with you and the kids. I wish I could freeze them just like this forever."

Fitz looked as his wife's face.

"Hey, hey. What's all this talk?"

She turns to look him in the eye.

"I'm pregnant Fitz."

He froze immediately.

"Liv...how...when...we have been so caught up with Sam and then the wedding. We've barely had time to have sex."

"That week when Sam pulled through his operation, remember we went home and got a little tipsy celebrating. Well, as I've told you my husband on many occasions you have super human sperm. Not to mention, I stopped all birth control before Sam got sick."

Fitz hugged her so tight he thought he may have hurt her a little. He pulled back and kissed her long and sweetly as he pulled back and gave her the biggest wide mouth grin known to man.

"So, Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III, will you be the reigning champion of making girls?"

"God, I hope so. Lily needs some balance."

They both giggled. They turned and moved toward their sleeping beauties to scoop them up and take them back home.


	10. Babies, Babies, and more babies

_**Hello Readers. First let me apologize for how long it's taken me to update, but I've lost my mojo for this story. This will be the last chapter. Thank you everyone who has stuck with me with this story. I hope you enjoyed it. Again, the characters in this story belong to Shonda Rhimes.**_

* * *

The week after Blake and Suzanne came back they had two big announcements. One, Suzanne fell in love with California and she was moving. Two, she was pregnant like Sam had said. Fitz called in a favor from one of his old professors at Harvard, Cyrus Beene. He was now President at Stanford and got Suzanne a spot at Bass Childhood Cancer Center. The sizable donation from Grant Oil didn't hurt either.

One afternoon Olivia walked out to Sam's tree and sat down with her beautiful baby boy.

"How's my favorite twin?"

Sam looked up and gave a big goofy grin to his mother. She always said that to him and Lily.

"Fine."

"Sammy, can you tell me when GG Candy and Grandma Maya started talking to you?"

"Sure, last year. I was sitting out here just watching the wind blow and the clouds go by when they sat down beside me. They told me lots of stuff and when to tell it to you and Daddy."

"Have you told us everything yet?"

"Not all of it, but soon. They told me I would get really sick, but not to worry everything would be fine, but I had to get sick so Uncle Blake could meet Auntie Suzanne."

Olivia held back her tears knowing that Sam was never really scared he would die.

"They won't stay with me long Momma. Grandma Maya said that we will have to figure things out on our own from now on. She told me to tell you she is so very proud of you. She's so happy that you found the large family you deserved and she would be with you always."

That broke the damn of tears that she was holding back. Sam climbed into her lap and gave her a hug and tried to wipe away the tears.

"Why are you crying Mommy?"

"Because I'm so happy. You, Lily, and Fitzgerald are the greatest things I've ever done in my life and so will this new baby."

Sam kissed her on the cheek and hugged her as he laid his head on her shoulder.

* * *

Months went by before Liv was ready to give birth. Suzanne was only a few weeks behind her on her delivery. Both had found out what they were having and as Sam predicted Liv was to have Talia Candy Grant and Suzanne was having Joshua Daniel Grant.

On October the 5th, Olivia's eyes popped open with the familiar pains of labor. She smiled and ran her hand over her belly as she knew that she would not have long to view the newest member of her family. This had been the easiest pregnancy she had enjoyed. Her family would read to the baby all the time. Fitzgerald would get up early and come into their bedroom and read Robin Crusoe as he laid his head on his mother lap like his father did. The twins would take turns with Dr. Seuss books and Fitz would read Paradise Lost at bedtime like he did with all his children. So Talia would know all their voices.

She turned over on her side and watched her Tommy sleep for a while until it was time to go. She moved over and started to kiss his face until he woke up. He opened his eyes to see his beautiful wife smiling at him and he knew it was time.

"How are my two little loves tonight?"

"One of us is ready to make an appearance."

Fitz sat up kissed Liv's belly and got out of the bed to put on his clothes. He woke up his mother who had flown down a week ago to look after the kids. He went back in to help Olivia put on her clothes and grab her overnight bag. They made it to the hospital and as soon as they wheeled Liv into her room her cervix dilated rather quickly. They had to move into delivery after only two hours in the hospital. Fitz smiled down at Olivia.

"Someone is really in a hurry to come into this world. She must really want to be with her family."

Olivia laughed and said, "she not messing around. I guess she misses her family too much to continue to bake in Mommies oven."

Liv wasn't far off, it took only two long pushes and Talia Candy Grant came in the world as calm as you please. Eyes open and quiet until they gave her a little slap to make her cry. Fitz and Olivia couldn't believe how sad she sounded. It only lasted until they cleaned her up and brought her over to her parents. Fitz and Olivia were shocked by what she looked like. She was Olivia twin in all her features other than her skin color. There was nothing of Fitz in this child. She had her curly brown hair, her nose, her potty lips and her eyes. Fitz nearly lost it. It was his Livie in miniature form. He took her out of her mother's arms and just stared at her. Fitz swore she just stared back at him. He finally started to talk to her.

"Hi, Talia. Mommy and I have waited to see you."

He took his finger and stroked her little cheek as he talked to her. Olivia started to cry as she watch her husband falling in love with their daughter. If she thought Lily was a Daddy's girl, Fitz was certainly doomed with Talia. She already had quite the personality. She seemed so calm and serene. Where as Lily had always been loud and brash. This little beauty was going to steal hearts from everyone. There would be no one left in her wake, but she exuded a sweetness as well, like Sam.

Fitz climbed into bed with Olivia so they could just lay down and look at what they had made. When she yawned they both laughed at how sweet it was. Olivia reached over took her so she could breast feed her. Fitz wrapped his arm around Olivia as the baby fed. Little thing went to sleep while she ate. Olivia lifted her to her shoulder and made her burp, then laid her on her father's chest as the three of them went to sleep. When the nurse came in an hour later, she found all of them out for the count. She was going to put Talia in her bed, but she thought better of it and let them sleep.

The kids and family arrived nice and early to see their new sister. Fitz sat all three children down on the sleeper sofa in the room and let them hold their new sister as he kneeled in front of them as they held her. Talia never squirmed or cried, all she did was look at who was holding her. When Lily held her.

"Hi Sissy! We are going to have a lot of fun when you get home. Momma can I put sissy in my doll house?"

There was a chorus of no's in the room when she said that. Lily just shook it off as one thing she couldn't do with her sister.

When Sam held her, she started to make noises like she was trying to talk. Sam smiled and whispered to her, he knew. He gave her a kiss on her cheek and handed her off to Fitzgerald.

Their eldest was not one for emotion, but when he held his little sister, he got a tear in his eye.

"What's wrong buddy?" Fitz asked.

He smiled that goofy lop sided smile like his father and said, "she looks like Mama."

"She does, doesn't she?" Fitz said.

He knew what he was feeling because he felt it to. His family was complete in so many ways. He looked around the room as he took his daughter and saw how far they had come from two 18 yr olds. He saw Fitzgerald when he was born and how he almost lost Liv. He saw his twins come into the world and almost losing one of them. Now he saw his hearts desire for his wife manifested in this brand new bundle of joy. He walked back over to Liv with tears coming down his face. He placed a kiss on her lips as she wiped away his tears. She didn't need to ask what was wrong, she saw it in the way he looked at his children and her.

* * *

Big F showed up a few hour later to see his new great granddaughter. When he walked in to see his family all packed in the room with the baby his heart soared. His son and daughter-in-law were there as well as Eli. He stood in the door way just a moment to listen to the chatter around the room. Sam saw him in the doorway and ran over and hugged him as well as Lily. They had saved his life after Candy died, and now this new little one was a beacon to the Grant family continuing on into the future.

"Grandpa! Come over and see the newest addition."

Big F went over and sat in the chair by the bed as Fitz put Talia into his arms. It was love at first sight. She was awake and looking in his eyes, so he thought and she smiled at him. For a moment that smiled reminded him of his beloved wife.

"Grandpa...we named her Talia Candy Grant. We wanted Grandma to live on with us."

Big F wiped a small tear away as he smiled at Fitz. "That's grand son, just grand."

Fitz had always seen Big F as tough as nails, but looking at him and his baby his heart was overwhelmed by his smile.

When Big F got up to leave to go home, Fitz asked to walk him out.

As they headed down to the lobby of the hospital, Fitz turned and stopped Big F.

"Grandpa, I just want to say thank you. For always believing in me and Liv. For placing your trust in me when you handed over the reigns to Grant Oil. For being my backbone when Sam was sick. And most of all I want to say that I love you more than I can express. You've been more of a father than a Grandfather and my role model in life. I am who I am because of you."

Big F grabbed Fitz and hugged him until his tears subsided.

"Little F, you've never disappointed me son. On a daily basis you have made me so proud by the way you handled getting married, starting a family, and running Grant Oil. I'm so very proud of you and what you've become. I can honestly say that if I leave here tomorrow, I know that I've left all of my affairs in good order with you. Now go back in there with your family. I have to get the plane ready to go to California tomorrow. Blake and Suzanne are due soon. I don't want to miss Joshua's birth."

He turns to walk away and then turns around, "Fitzgerald we will always live on in the next generation, take care of my babies."

And with that Big F leaves.

* * *

The family didn't have long to wait for Joshua Daniel Grant to appear in the world, it was a week later when he made the scene. He was a perfect example of Blake and Suzanne. Joshua was a blonde baby with striking dark blue eyes. He had Suzanne's perfect heart-shaped lips and her cute button nose. Other than that he was all grant with his curly blonde hair and the Grant eyes. Suzanne said they were as blue as the deepest sea she'd seen.

Although Fitz and Olivia had been old pro's at having a baby, Blake was a complete mess. Suzanne had decided to work until she gave birth and then take maturity leave. Blake was such a sweet heart through her pregnancy. He bought book upon books to get ready for the arrival of their baby. In the Grant tradition and Fitz's advice along the way, he read to the baby every night and rubbed coconut lotion on Suzanne's tummy before he went to bed at night. He would spend his lunch time with Suzanne at the hospital. It was close to his lab. Each night as he spooned against Suzanne, he would rub her stomach until she went to sleep. He could not remember being so happy in his life before them.

Suzanne was still working at the hospital when he got the call that she had gone into labor. His lab partner had to drive him to the hospital. He kept coming back into the lab for things he forgot, the third time, he told him he would drive him to the hospital. Blake had prepared theoretically as much as he could, but the reality was a bit more than he could take. When he saw the blood coming out, he fainted. All was forgiven when they laid their eyes on their bundle of joy. Blake blubbered when he saw his son for the first time. Suzanne just laughed and smiled at how her husband was falling in love with their son. A couple of hours later found the entire Grant Clan minus Fitz's family in the hospital to greet the newest member. Suzanne's Mom and Dad had come a week earlier to help get ready for the baby.

Suzanne's dad was still a little salty about the marriage and pregnancy, so it surprised Blake when he slapped him on the back to congratulate him for his grandson. While the Grant's were mostly boys, the Rice clan had nothing but granddaughters. So Joshua was their first grandson and Bradley Rice couldn't have been more proud of his new grandson.

Big F flew in with Blake's parents and some of his brother's to see the new bundle of joy. When Blake placed Joshua in his arms Big F started to cry.

"What wrong grandpa? Why are you crying?", Blake asked.

"Because my heart is so full now. I know you haven't seen Talia yet, but they look like they could be twins, and they both share a connection with Candy with their names."

* * *

_**Epilogue**_

The Grant clan had been bursting at the seams. But with expansion came the harsh realities of life. Two months after Big F returned from seeing his Great Grandson, he passed away in his sleep. Olivia found his body in his bed with a smile on his face, the family was devastated.

Another tragedy befell the family two years later when Abby was struck by a drunk driver and killed in the process. Greyson was shattered by the events. He had to leave the Navy to take care of their three-year old son Carter Grey. If it hadn't been for his son, he would have had no reason to continue on. Fitz brought him in to run the offshore drilling operation. Liv took on the roll as mother to Carter and the kids just accepted him as their sibling. Fitz built a house next to theirs for Carter and Greyson to live, so Liv could feed and get him to school with all the rest. Liv would greatly feel the loss of her friend everyday when she saw her son, but she was bound and determined to make sure he didn't feel her absence as much as she did growing up without a mother.

Blake and Suzanne the same year as Abby died expanded again with the birth of their triplets. Again all boys. Blake decided to take a two-year sabbatical to care for his children. Suzanne was doing amazing things at the hospital so it was a no brainier for Blake to take the time off. He turned out to be a better house husband than Physicist.

Thus life goes on for the Grant clan as it should.


End file.
